Tale of Two Taylors

The tale of two Scott Taylors revolves around the closure of Wing Shack, 307 S. National Ave. With 10 employees owed a month’s worth of pay and Christmas just around the corner, one Scott Taylor, the restaurant’s owner, closed the doors without notice and seemingly disappeared. A media report led some to blame another Scott Taylor – the owner of Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in Springfield and Nixa.

While the closure of Wing Shack seemed to have come at the worst of times for its employees, the latter Taylor found it was the best of times to try and turn around a sad story.  

Dickey’s Taylor said he originally found out about the issue when he saw his mother defending him on Facebook.

“She said, ‘This isn’t my son. He didn’t own that, so please don’t think it’s my Scott,’” Taylor said.

She was referring to the Dec. 12 KY3 report on the closure, which cited two former Wing Shack employees, Tracy Graves and Billy Miller, who said they were owed money.

Kirk Heyle of Heyle Realtors & Consulting Services LLC, landlord for the former Wing Shack property, said he understands from its employees they were owed a month’s worth of wages. The saga kicked in full swing when Wing Shack Assistant Manager Graves came to Heyle with another employee saying Taylor told her the restaurant would be closed on Dec. 9 in order to do work on the restaurant’s hardwood floors – but no one showed up to work on Dec. 10.

Heyle said he hasn’t been able to reach Wing Shack’s Taylor since he learned the restaurant was closed.

When Heyle and Graves entered the restaurant, he said the place was trashed.

“(Taylor) owes us several months’ rent, and he wrote me a bad check,” Heyle said, estimating Wing Shack’s owner owes him at least $7,500 in back rent and cleanup expenses. “They took all the food, all the equipment, all the neon signs that belonged to the beer companies. They took everything they could. They just left a horrible mess.”

Both Taylor’s home phone and cell numbers have been disconnected, and an email address Heyle provided no longer receives messages.

By Dec. 13, Dickey’s Taylor started getting contacted by friends and others who wanted to know why he would skip out on employees before Christmas.

“My initial reaction was that this wasn’t going to be a big deal,” Taylor said, adding that he had been mistaken a handful of times before for another Scott Taylor in Springfield. “Then, the next morning, I started getting text and Facebook messages and thought I had potentially a bigger problem on my hands than I had realized.”

He also received a call from KY3 reporter Jay Scherder, who was seeking an explanation from the Wing Shack owner on his conduct as part of a follow-up story. After clearing up the matter with KY3, Taylor said he wanted to help out the former Wing Shack employees.

“There was an opportunity that was there by sheer luck,” Taylor said, adding he had a need to hire a couple of employees.

Taylor said he hired former server Miller within 72 hours of learning about Wing Shack’s closure and last week added cashier Brittany Smallwood to the staff.

Additionally, Taylor created a fundraiser to benefit former Wing Shack employees. Between Dec. 19 and Dec. 21, Taylor set aside 10 percent of in-store sales and the Dickey’s corporate office in Dallas committed to match the franchisee’s amount to generate roughly $2,000. Taylor said, unfortunately, the former Wing Shack employees didn’t receive the money before Christmas, and he is still awaiting some of the matching funds. He expects to be able to distribute the money evenly in January.

“I want my restaurants to be involved in the community, and to that end, we want to give back,” he said.

Heyle said he already has secured a tenant for the National Avenue site near St. Louis Street.

“We signed a lease with a new restaurant on (Dec. 21), and we have part of a deposit. They already have people over there painting and we’re getting ready to put some new tile floor down in places,” Heyle said, though he declined to disclose the new tenant or the lease terms. A person working at the site said the restaurant owner would not disclose the business’ name at this time.

Heyle said he didn’t know if he’d pursue a lawsuit against Wing Shack’s Taylor.

“Right now, we don’t know if we can find them,” Heyle said. “They’ve taken all of their equipment and are in hiding or have left town.”[[In-content Ad]]